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 OSEPH CARTER, who for the last twenty-four years has been located on section 33. in
Morgan Township, is the son of John and
Mary (Templeton) Carter, of Tennessee,
and was born Aug. 6, 1827. John Carter, a native
of Tennessee, was born in 1784, and departed this
life at his home in Ashmore Township, July 19,
1841, when fifty-seven years of age. He requested
that his funeral services be conducted on the following Sabbath by James Ashmore. He had been
a resident of this county for eleven years, residing
near Ashmore. The mother was a native of East
Tennessee; she died about the year 1857. Both
parents belonged to the Cumberland Presbyterian
Church, of which the father had been a member
since earl3 T manhood. His parents had reared a
large family of children, of whom only John came
to this locality. The children of John and Mary Carter, nine in number, are recorded as follows: Susan became the wife of John Austin, and died in Ashmore; Shelton is married, and lives there; Nancy is the wife of Robert Boyd, of Kansas; Bailey was married, and died in 1847, leaving a wife and two children; Thenia married Solomon Collins of Morgan Township, and died in 1856; Jane, the wife of Caleb Reed, is living at Ashmore Joseph, of our sketch, was the seventh child; Betsey married James Cox, of Ashmore, and is now deceased; Catherine became the wife of George Young, and died in Oregon. Joseph Carter remained a member of the parental household until twenty-one years of age, and early in life began to make himself useful about the homestead. He was a bright and intelligent boy, and when but fifteen years of age partially took charge of his father’s farm. Soon after reaching his majority he was married to Miss Martha J. Collins, of Morgan Township. Our subject then located on section 32, where they lived until 1863. Mrs. Carter was the daughter of Aaron and Margaret (Campbell) Collins, of North Carolina, and became the wife of our subject Oct. 18, 1848, the wedding being celebrated at the home of the bride. She is a native of this county and was born March 2, 1831. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Carter resulted in the birth of the following children: William J. was born Oct. 1, 1849, is married, has one child, and is living in Oakland: Thomas B., born Nov. 3, 1851, is married, has two children living, and is farming in Douglas County, Ill.; David W., born Oct. 2, 1855, died Sept. 11, 1858; Mary Jane, born April 23, 1858, is the wife of J. K. Brown, a farmer of Edgar County; Alice, born Jan. 7, 1861, is at home with her parents; John A., born June 3, 1863, died Sept. 15, 1869; Delilah B., born Sept. 30, 1865, died Nov. 5, 1866; Jacob S., born Sept. 14, 1867, died Sept. 19, 1869; Margaret K., born May 26, 1870, became the wife of David Carnahan. and is living with her parents. Mr. Carter took possession of his present homestead over twenty-four years ago, and has since given the greater part of his time and attention to its improvement and cultivation. The land is largely devoted to grain-raising, and the proprietor keeps a goodly assortment of live-stock. While having plenty to engage his attention about his premises, he has still maintained a proper degree of interest in the welfare of his community, and for some years has been a member and Elder of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, together with his wife and three daughters, attending at Rardin. He was one of the first supporters of this religious institution at its organization, and ten years previously had been connected with the Union Church in the northern part of the township. Politically he is a stanch Democrat, a free-trade man, and a member of Hazel Dale Grange No. 1,322. Mr. Carter was born in Wayne County, Ky., whence his parents removed when he was a child not quite three years of age. They made the journey overland to Central Illinois, and a little daughter was added to the family after they located in Coles County. His father had led quite an adventurous life in his manhood, being engaged in the fight with the Creek Indians under Gen. Jackson. Joseph, our subject, served in the Mexican War. He did not, however, remain with the army many months, as he was-taken ill soon after crossing the Gulf, and confined in the hospital, from which he was discharged Nov. 20, 1846, and also from the army on account of physical disability. Mr. Carter, in 1852, like a great many others at that period, was seized with the California gold fever, and joined the caravan moving toward the Pacific Slope. The journey was made with an oxteam and consumed five months and eighteen days. He was gone from home twenty-nine months, returning to this State in August, 1854, but aside from his opportunities to see the country, the adventure proved of but little benefit, as his labor in the mines yielded but small returns. He came back by way of the Isthmus and New York City, and has never regretted the opportunity which he had for witnessing the strange sights connected with life in the wild West at that early period. Mr. Carter has been prominently identified with local affairs since coming to Morgan Township, having been School Director for a period of twenty-one years and Road Commissioner eight years. He is the oldest settler in the county now living in the township, and is accorded that peculiar reverence and respect due those who have so materially assisted in redeeming the soil of Central Illinois from its original condition. His farm includes 200 acres of finely cultivated land, with a good residence and all necessary out-buildings, and everything about the premises is creditable to the taste and industry of the proprietor. The lowland has been drained with 800 rods of tile, and Mr. Carter has operated in a marked degree after the methods of the intelligent and progressive farmer. |
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